Innercircle Perspective

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

The 53rd Congress of the Euro-Asiatic Baptist Federation (EABF) met recently in Moscow, and it was dedicated to evangelism and missionary ministry. The purpose of the EABF is to provide opportunities for Baptist Union leaders in each of the former Soviet countries to meet, and share their praises and challenges. SGA partners help make it possible.

Altogether, 62 delegates from 11 nations enjoyed rich fellowship and prayed for one another’s ministries. Pastor Vyacheslav Nesteruk of Ukraine completed his term as president, with Pastor Viktor Krutko of Belarus succeeding him for the next two years. EABF executive secretary Pastor Yuri Apatov planned and coordinated the wonderfully effective gathering.

The theme was simple and profound — The church in the 21st century should be sharing the Gospel in the same measure as that in the first century. Their reports indicate that they are faithfully doing it. While only Ukraine and Moldova are free from growing opposition and persecution, nevertheless, the Gospel is going forward in every nation. In a few nations, there is encouraging growth. Yet in five countries, official opposition and persecution continues to increase, and the church is under intense pressure. Report after report highlighted all the different attempts to stop the Gospel, but in every case they concluded with the words, “But the work goes on!”

In Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Georgia, SGA partners have been assisting the churches to a limited degree, but now we are constrained to increase our support as much as possible due to the oppression they are facing.

Last fall, we asked you to pray for three faithful church leaders in Uzbekistan — UECB president Pavel Peichev, along with Dmitri Pitimirov, who directs the SGA-sponsored Camp Joy, and UECB bookkeeper Elena Turbatova. They were convicted on fabricated charges and the appeals court upheld the bogus convictions. They were all heavily fined and forced to vacate their positions for three years. The EABF delegate from Uzbekistan reported …

Once a month on our TV, they show two films in Uzbek and in Russian. One film is about the criminal case against Pavel Peichev. They show a picture of Pavel and the others convicted and a picture of our church. Then they show charismatic services with all their wildness to cause people to believe that they are our services.

The second film is about an older woman who went to Russia and believed in Jesus Christ. She was filled with a great desire to tell her family and friends about Jesus Christ. She was warned to stop, but she continued witnessing. Then a car hit her, and she died. But no Muslim cemetery would allow her to be buried. So her relatives buried her somewhere in the wilderness. During the night, jackals dug her body up and ate it. Then the film ends with a warning that this is going to happen to every Muslim who betrays their faith. They also show it in schools and colleges, and in public transportation. But there are those who know us personally and they do not believe this propaganda. Sometimes the local authorities say to us that they know we are peaceful people.

The EABF delegate from Tajikistan reported that an alternate version of the film is being shown in his country…

In the Tajik version, it is shown that the woman’s family was freezing in the wilderness. So her husband dug up her body, and then they are shown warming themselves up by her burning body. Then they burned their car. And it’s being explained that this is how irrational and horrific traitors to Islam become.

In Uzbekistan, there are 28 million people but only 3,000 evangelical believers. The UECB members number 1,800. They gather for worship in 30 churches and 20 groups, but there are only 11 pastors and 14 deacons. As you read this, please stop and pray for the Lord to raise up more pastors and more deacons. Pray that He will protect Camp Joy and keep it open this summer so that hundreds of children and youth will have the opportunity to receive the glorious Gospel message. Pray that many will repent of their sins and trust Christ as Savior. Pray that the Lord will protect our brothers, Pavel and Dmitri, and our sister, Elena.

As you receive this, we are fervently praying that the Lord will help us finish our fiscal year on June 30th in a positive manner, with adequate resources to cover our obligations in July. At the same time, my heart is filled with gratitude to the Lord, and to you and all our faithful partners, for all your prayers and support that have sustained our ministries in the lands of Russia throughout this past year.

Photo: Participants of the 53rd Congress of the EABF at Central Moscow Baptist church